Kalamazoo, MI will always have a special place in my heart, not only because it is the childhood home of my favorite New York Yankee, Derek Jeter, but also because of the ballin Walmart wifi we were able to bum in the parking lot as we nestled in for another night of reality TV in the van. Upon writing this blog entry I found out that the Walmart parking lot we slept in was less than 4 miles away from Derek’s childhood home….and NO I’m not bitter that I didn’t get to do a super-secret drive-by of his old house or get the chance to roll in the dirt at Derek Jeter Field at his local high school….NO, I’m fine….TOTALLY fine!
We had a super short stay in Michigan and would have liked to explore further north, but as usual, we were racing against time to outrun the cold. When we finally got to the Lake Michigan side of the mitten state, we explored the quaint beach town of St. Joseph. Although some dub it the “Riviera of the Midwest”, not a whole lot was going on when we arrived, but I could see how it might be more bustling in the summer. It’s definitely one of those towns that has the potential to be a setting for a Nicolas Sparks movie. It boasts white sandy beaches, vineyards, and the largest non-citrus fruit-growing region in the country, according to the city’s website. It’s also less than 100 miles from Chicago, so it’s a popular tourist destination for the city-folk.
While driving into the main part of town, we saw a huge Whirlpool factory. St. Joseph was home to the Whirlpool appliance founder Louis Upton, and later his great grand-niece, supermodel Kate Upton, although we did not see her while we were there. Knowing we had limited time left in Michigan, as we needed to persist West, I hopped around the stores on State Street, trying to find a Christmas ornament. My favorite two shops were Purely Michigan and The Candlestick Maker. For those of you who are new to our van trip diaries, I try to collect a Christmas ornament from every state, city, and/or major hot-spot that we visit, and I do my best to have it locally crafted, although I am not always successful.
From St. Joseph, we then drove to the other side of the bridge to visit Tiscornia Park. We watched a kite surfer in the distance as we walked to the North Pier Inner Lighthouse. I was amazed we were allowed to walk all the way to the end, as the waves were violently crashing onto the pier, making it very slippery and someone not paying attention to the tide could potentially be trapped at the end, or even swept out to sea. We also didn’t see the warning sign about all of these dangerous situations until after we completed the walk and after I totally bit it on the slippery pier. Good thing I had a big bag of ice in the van freezer to numb all of my bruised body parts and also my ego. Living on the edge, with shitty health insurance makes every slip-and-fall scarier than when we had our cushy office jobs with our corporate insurance plans., but talking about vanlife insurance is another article for another day
It was getting late, so we found a camp spot at Indiana Dunes State Park Campground in new-state-for-us Indiana, just south of St. Joseph. We met an older couple from St. Louis in the spot behind us, and much to Lucy’s delight, they also had a golden retriever puppy. We let the dogs wrestle it out as we enjoyed fajitas and smores around their campfire that night.
The next morning, we tended to some van cleaning and various reorganization efforts. While at the campground, Humz also made us some insulating covers out of fabric, Reflectix, and Velco, so we could attach them to our rear and side windows to prevent drafts. Whenever we have a lot of projects to work on, need a lot of space to spread out, or simply want to use a lot of water and/or heat, we typically book a campground so that we have room to work, otherwise it’s usually a night at the Chez Walmart for us.
North Pier Inner Lighthouse - St. Joseph, MI
North Pier Inner Lighthouse - St. Joseph, MI: We didn’t see this warning sign until after we got back, and after I bit it on the slippery pier.
North Pier Inner Lighthouse - St. Joseph, MI: It gets so treacherous they installed grab bars on the side of the lighthouse so you can scale by it. Watch out for the rising tide!
Indiana Dunes State Park Campground: Lucy is modeling her long leash here, aka: a 25’ nylon rope dock line we bought from Home Depot. Its weight and thickness is heavy enough so it doesn’t get snagged on things, it floats, so we can take it in the water, and the loop at the end makes it easier to tie her up to the van’s running board. If it can tow a boat, it can tow a dog! (Disclaimer: Don’t actually try to tow your dog.)
Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park: Lucy loving the sandy shores of Lake Michigan
What is that curious sky creature? - Lucy